Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: Shock and awe at hand

Friday, March 21, 2003 | 5:17 a.m.

HOW ABOUT that shock and awe?

As I write this, it is Friday morning in Las Vegas and nighttime in Baghdad. The real war has just started.

Until then, not much had happened in our war with Iraq since that amazing display of unplanned precision bombing that lit up the night sky Wednesday at the beginning of what was supposed to be the most incredible display of military power ever witnessed.

That was good news because some reports suggested that Saddam was either injured, killed or so discombobulated that his senior officials were considering a hasty retreat from their blustering words of just a few days ago. If a few cruise missiles and some stealthily placed bombs could have avoided an all-out attack on Baghdad, then the war would have been successful early and everyone could have gone home.

But, like all things in war conditions, what is happening at this moment proves that things change -- just like that -- and the relative quiet that existed Friday morning turned violent just hours later. What might have been an easy war turned the kind of ugly that often happens. And, while every sensible person on the planet should have wished it otherwise, the need arose and our generals and their troops have been doing what they originally planned -- they have resorted to shock and awe.

I have to admit that I am no different from most Americans who tuned into their television sets sometime Wednesday as President George W. Bush's 48-hour deadline neared and nothing but defiance emanated from Saddam Hussein's lair. We had a chance to witness live and sometimes in living color the unfolding of modern-day warfare and I, for one, wasn't going to miss it.

Americans have been caught up most recently in this thing called reality television. Network producers make up some of the most ridiculous challenges, encourage any number of very pretty people and some not-so-pretty celebrities to participate in the humiliation, and charge advertisers a fortune to ply their wares in front of seemingly mindless viewers who have discovered they have absolutely nothing else to do with their time other than watch the realistic fantasies. The result is one hit after another and the continued dumbing down of America. So be it. This, too, we will survive.

So, who can argue that this $100 billion extravaganza, courtesy of the armed forces of the United States of America with an able assist from Great Britain, is not the single best show on television. And it, my friends, is really real. Deadly so, I am afraid. That is why practically every television in every home, workplace and play place is tuned to any network that seems to have some news about what is happening in Iraq. And that is also why there will be a downturn in productivity while our young men and women are fighting the bad guys in Iraq.

One of the real positive aspects of the United States is that, regardless of the spirited and sometimes acrimonious debate that preceded the order to war from the commander in chief, this country has pulled together to support our armed forces as they head into the unknown that is called war. No matter how ludicrous it seemed to some of us that Saddam's forces could actually believe they could put up any kind of credible fight against the best soldiers in the world, the fact remains that anything can go wrong once the order to march is given, and it usually does.

We have already experienced some deaths -- mostly from either friendly fire or from accidents that happen no matter which government agency promises us that they won't -- and they are regrettable and sad. And there will probably be more. That's where reality really sinks in, when young people come home dead. That's the price Americans have always been willing to pay for their own freedom and the freedom of others.

There will be plenty of time, once the shooting stops and the assessments are made about how successful we will have been, to offer critical thoughts about the handling of the prewar, war and postwar activities but, for now, we must concentrate on getting this job done as fast and painlessly as possible.

So, that brings me back to shock and awe. It seemed likely at one point to consider the real possibility that shock and awe would have been shelved in favor of white flags, surrenders and a peaceful march into Baghdad. That didn't happen, but not because the people who have conducted this war -- the planners, the generals and their command staffs, the troops in the field and, yes, the commander in chief who never doubted their ability to prevail -- didn't want it to go that way.

So now we have been seeing what America can really do when it comes to making war, and those pictures should not escape any of us as we consider our next move. When we are done in Iraq we will still have all those men, women and equipment in an area of the world that could use a little more cleaning up. There are other bad actors just waiting to have their regimes changed for the better. Iran, Syria and even our friends in Saudi Arabia who did as much to help 9-11 happen as anyone, are ripe for the opportunity to see the light into a better tomorrow.

With what appears to be a victory at hand, President Bush should be free to consider his next move without the interminable buildup time required for any further action. And, if our troops find what everyone expects they will, weapons of mass destruction lurking about, our friends who sat this one out will have less to say in opposition to our next adventure.

As for that shock and awe thing? The world should be in shock that Iraqis ever thought they would be a match for us once this thing got rolling -- no matter how rough it may yet get before victory is at hand. And the people of the United States should be in awe at the way our military has been able to carry this day. So should the rest of the bad guys in this world.

Let's keep it that way.

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